The present invention generally relates to an article of furniture for use in a work environment. In particular, the present invention relates to a multi-function article of furniture that can be used as a seating product, as support, as a work surface, or in any of a wide variety of other arrangements.
It is well known to provide an article of furniture for supporting a worker in a work environment. Seating products such as chairs for supporting a worker in a seated position are generally well-known. Typically a chair will include a base (or legs), a seat and a back. However, such known chairs comfortably support a worker only in a single posture (i.e., a single seated position). Alternative seating products, such as xe2x80x9cbean-bagxe2x80x9d chairs or the like are known but not commonly thought of as comfortable (or aesthetically suitable for the work environment), even though multiple postures may be supported. It is also known to provide for a stool, which will support a single posture (i.e., a seated position).
It is also generally well-known to provide an article of furniture that functions as a support. For example, it is well-known to use a stool such as a foot stool for supporting the feet of a worker. Known foot stools typically have a relatively small height (i.e., lower than the lap of a worker when in a seated position). Such known footstools are usually used in association with a chair, such that a worker sitting in the chair can rest his or her feet on the stool (i.e., below the seat of the chair). Such known stools may also be used to support a worker in a seated position (i.e., sitting on the stool or resting on a floor against the stool). However, such known stools provide only a limited number of seating positions at a limited number of heights (e.g., seated on top of the stool, or seated on the floor and resting against the stool). Moreover, such known articles of furniture are not typically capable of a multi-function use.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an article of furniture for multi-function use in a work environment, for example as a seating product to support a worker in a variety of positions at a variety of heights, as a support, as a work surface, etc. It would further be advantageous to provide a multi-function article of furniture that may be formed in a variety of sizes and shapes and that may be easily transported between work areas. Other advantages of the subject matter recited in the appended claims will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the specification and the claims.
The present invention relates to a multi-purpose article of furniture for use by at least one worker in a work environment having a horizontal support surface such as a floor and at least one vertical support surface such as a wall, including a core formed by a first core section coupled to a second core section at an angular displacement, and a cover configured to fit around the core. The core can be oriented in a first position for a first purpose and a second position for a second purpose.
The present invention also relates to a seating product selectively positionable between a vertical orientation along a vertical axis and a horizontal orientation along a horizontal axis in a work environment or the like providing a horizontal surface such as a floor and a vertical surface such as a wall. The seating product includes a semi-rigid core having a first generally cylindrical portion coupled to a second generally cylindrical portion thereby forming an oblique portion relative to the vertical axis, a generally planar end cap coupled to the first portion of the core, the end cap being inclined relative to the horizontal axis, and a generally planar base coupled to the second portion generally parallel to the horizontal axis. The core in both the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation is configured to support at least one worker.
The present invention also relates to an article of furniture selectively positionable between an upright orientation and a horizontal orientation for use in a work environment or the like having a horizontal support surface such as a floor and a vertical support surface such as a wall. The article of furniture includes a core having a generally planar side and a first end configured for resting on the horizontal support surface and a second end being oblique relative to the first end and configured for supporting a worker, a curved portion disposed between the first end and the second end of the core, a generally planar base for supporting the core in the upright orientation coupled to the first end of the core, and a generally planar cap coupled to a second end of the core. The planar side of the core is configured to rest against the horizontal surface or the vertical surface to selectively retain the core in either a first horizontal position or a second horizontal position.